An apple thief impressed
by Lady Moe
Summary: in which Rudy is nervous, Arthur is impressed, and Liesel comes out on top.


I don't own the book thief

Wrote this for a book report, thought I might as well stick it on here. Basically it's just the first time Liesel and Rudy steal fruit in Arthur Berg's point of view. Not all that special.

I cocked my head at the pair of newcomers standing rather sheepishly at the back of my gang. They couldn't have been more than eleven or twelve, and man, they looked out of place and nervous, sheepishly egging each other on as they worked up the nerve to approach me. I laughed inwardly. I wasn't _that_ intimidating, was I? Just a fifteen year old human zit with sticky fingers and, as my mum said, an overly smart mouth. But I guess, to a couple of kids, that was something. "And?" I asked, a small smile playing at my lips.

"I'm starving," replied the boy with the lemon hair and the anxious, goofy smile.

The skinny girl worked up the nerve to meet my eyes, her own deep brown ones portraying an air of mischief and danger. "And he's fast," she added boldly.

I raised my eyebrows in amusement. "I don't recall asking for your opinion." I shook my head. I thought I was going to like these kids. "But I like you." I recognized the girl as one Liesel Meminger, the tough little vixen who had, well…

I glanced over at Andy. "Isn't this the one who beat up your brother, Anderl?"

"I think so," he said, wistfully glancing at the girl with a look that made it only to clear that he was jealous that _he _hadn't been the one to strike terror into his younger sibling.

The boy nodded. "It is."

Andy grinned and slapped Liesel on the back. "Great work kid. I'd get whipped for it if I did it myself." Not like that had ever stopped him before. His poor brother had had more broken bones than Hitler had soldiers in his army.

And if that was Liesel, then the lemon haired kid had to be Rudy Steiner, better known as….

"And you're the Jesse Owens one, aren't you?" I asked.

Rudy nodded, half proud and half sheepish, casting a nasty look at his best friend as she grinned evilly at him, mocking him for his claim to fame.

I looked him up and down. "Clearly, you're an idiot," I surmised, turning to go. The boy's hopes began to disappear and he nervously studied his toes. I glanced over my shoulder, smirking, and threw him an empty burlap bag. "But you're our kind of idiot. Come on you two!"

I was going to like these kids alright.

Glancing up at the barbed wire fence around the farm, I asked the new recruits, "Either of you ever stolen before?"

Rudy looked uneasy. "Of course," he said shakily, "all the time." It was clear that the boy had not stolen so much as a grape seed, but I didn't care. They all started out like him at first. And the kid could run.

Liesel looked rather proud as she nodded, confirming my question. "I've stolen two books," she announced.

I snorted at the silly little girl. "You can't eat books, sweetheart." Well, I considered, I guess you could, but they wouldn't taste all that great. I laughed at my own joke before turning to my gang and staring my usual speech. "One, don't get caught on the fence. You get on the fence, you get left behind. Understand?" Everyone nodded, except for Andy, standing at the back, who rolled his eyes at me. I _never _left anyone behind, despite my threats. I gave him a look, making a mental note to leave him behind the next time he got himself into trouble. "Two, One in the tree one below. Someone has to collect. Three-" I paused for dramatic effect- "you see someone coming, you call out loud enough to wake the dead- and we all run. Kapeesh?"

"Got it," the others chorused.

I watched with amusement as the kids threw their bag of apples and followed it over the fence. Liesel looked up at me with hopeful eyes. "How'd we do?"

I dropped down from the tree I was sitting in, eyes wide as I stared at the pile of apples, about twice as large as my own. "Not bad," I said weakly, leaning in to inspect them. "Not bad at all…."

_Oh yeah, _I was _definitely _going to like these kids.


End file.
